Change Happens
by Shadowdog85
Summary: A Snape adopts Harry. During Harry's fifth year he gets bitten by a strange beast and now he turning into one as well! What will this mean for everyone and for the fight against Voldemort. Meow!
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** Harry Potter and all it's characters belong to J.K. Rowling, although I do own the Mastakos and maybe latter a few other little characters.

**Author's note: **Hi, everyone, this is my second fan fiction ever. Please be kind, my first one was a Harry/Snape slash, this time I plan on a Snape-adopts-Harry. I hope you like it, on with the story now.

**Chapter One: **_Centaurs...Grawp...and Separated!_

Harry and Hermione quickly lead the (false) Headmistress Umbridge into the dark forest with the promise of a secret weapon. Once within the trees, Hermione started talking loudly and thrashing around noisily. They were taking the path leading towards Aragog and not Grawp, when suddenly an arrow flew through the air and landed with a menacing thud in the tree just over Hermione's head. The forest floor trembled and the sounds of hundreds of hooves impacting the ground echoed into the night. Umbridge screamed and pushed Harry in front of her like a shield. Wrenching free and turning he saw about 50, if not more, centaurs surrounding the three of them. All had loaded bows drawn and pointed right at them!

"Who are you?" a voice, identifiable as the chestnut coated, Magorian.

"I asked you who are you, human." Magorian repeated roughly, when no one answered.

"I am Dolores Umbridge! Senior Undersecretary to the Minister of Magic and Headmistress and High Inquisitor of Hogwarts!" Umbridge said in a high pitched terrified voice.

What followed in the next twenty minutes was chaos, and after the centaurs carried away Umbridge, the rest turned to Harry and Hermione.

"And these?" A hard-faced, gray centaur, who was holding Hermione asked.

"They are young," answered a slow, doleful voice from behind the one holding Harry. "We do not attack foals."

"They brought her here, Ronan," Stated the one holding on firmly to Harry. "And they are not so young.... He is nearing manhood, this one...."

In the next few minutes a situation that was bad, became worse when Hermione said a very stupid thing to the already irate centaurs. They were about to carry Harry and Hermione away to where they had taken Umbridge, when all the sudden there was a horrible racket coming towards them through the trees. It was so loud that all of the centaurs and the humans looked over. Hermione and Harry's centaurs dropped them and reached for their bows, loading an arrow and aiming at the trembling trees. Those same trees were shoved apart by the huge form of Hagrid's baby half-brother, Grawp, and the centaurs nearest him backed up into the ones behind. All loaded bows were now pointing at the young giant, who stooped down at the centaurs and bellowed.

"Hagger!" He kept saying this getting louder and more insistently before Hermione figured out what he was trying to say.

"He's saying Hagrid." She whispered to Harry, when at that very moment Grawp noticed the two young humans.

"Hermy, where Hagger?" Grawp roared.

When Hermione told him she didn't know, he threw a fit, reaching out a hand to grab them and knocking over a pure white centaur while at it. When Grawp's giant fingers were a foot from Harry, 50 arrows flew though the air and peppered Grawp's huge face. In the minutes that followed Harry was showered with pebble-sized drops of blood as he screamed for Hermione to run, becoming separated in the stampede of hooves and the giant's feet. Forcing Harry deeper into the forest and Hermione back towards the castle. Harry's scar gave a terrible pulse of pain and Harry nearly screamed in frustration, and trying to find his way back to the school was soon turned around and lost. So feeling defeated, Harry climbed a nearby tree waiting for dawn when the sun would help him navigate, all the while Harry felt horrible worried about his Godfather.

~~Meanwhile with Hermione~~

Hermione decided to return to the castle for help. Help from who? She didn't know yet, but she knew she wouldn't be able to find Harry alone in that forest. Upon exiting the forest she ran right into Professor Snape who looked furious. He grabbed her shoulders and as he was about to snap at her, he stopped and lifted his hands, looking at the blood that covered them.

"Where...is...Potter!?"He questioned roughly, face pale and breathing thickening.

"He's still in the forest, we got separated, and I came to get help." Hermione answered, looking back into the shadowed trees.

"Are you hurt, is he hurt?"

"No, I'm not and I don't think Harry is either, the blood is Hagrid's half-brother's."

"You don't think Potter is hurt? You're not certain!?"

"No sir, we got separated in the stampede, he... he might have gotten hurt by the centaur hooves,sir."

"Ms. Granger, you will go back to the school and wait. When I get back with Potter, you will tell me everything that has happened." Snape said before hurrying away. Hermione didn't go back to the school though, but waited right there.

Only to be joined in a few minutes by Ron, Ginny, Luna and Neville, who all agreed to wait with Hermione after she told them what had happened. It was nearing dawn when the Professor returned empty-handed,and he was furious when he spotted the children. Striding forward quickly, he opened his mouth to comment and possibly take points when the bushes a few yards away began shaking.

~~With Harry~~

When dawn was nearing Harry decided to try again, using the half-light as his guide. He found that he was not far at all from the castle and as he approached, Harry suddenly heard the bushes shaking slightly behind him. Fearing that the centaurs were coming back, he broke into a run, rushing to the school as fast as his tired body would go. Breaking through the last bushes violently, Harry heard the cries of his friends and looking a few yards ahead, he was greeted with the sight of his friends. To his dismay, he also saw the Potions Master standing there scowling at him too. Walking a few steps away from the bushes Harry was suddenly grabbed viciously on his upper thigh. He screamed shrilly as sharp fangs tore into his skin, and with the time it took to blink, he was being dragged back into the dark forest.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: **Harry Potter and all it's characters belong to J.K. Rowling, although I do own the Mastakos and maybe later a few other little characters.

**Chapter Two: **_The Bite...The Fever and Infection...The News._

~~With Snape~~

Snape swirled around quickly when the bushes a few yards away from him started shaking, pointing his wand at them, he prepared to fight whatever was coming out of the forest. When Potter stumbled out though, he lowered his wand scowling darkly at the little hellion. All the while, the brat's friends behind him were cheering loudly. Snape decided then to tear into the little rule-breaker until the brat was in tears. 'As soon as he gets over here,' he thought, watching the small Gryffindor start walking in their direction. Suddenly the boy shrieked and Snape watched in horror as the child was knocked down and dragged back into the forest by something he couldn't see.

"HARRY!!" Ms. Granger screamed and tried to rush after him.

"Ms. Granger, NO! You don't know what it is or if there's more than one!" Snape roared, rushing forward swiftly.

Snape had to grab her and order the others back all at once. As much as Snape wanted to go after Potter, he knew that the other students would try to follow him. Before he could decide though, the decision was made for him. The sound of Potter screaming echoed from a distance away followed by the feel of strong wild magic that lifted the hairs on the back of Snape's neck. Quickly followed by the roar of what sounded like a large cat, which was echoed by two other cries a slight distance away. Then the sounds of something clumsily rushing towards them from the forest.

~~With Harry~~

Harry was painfully dragged over the forest floor with something big tearing his thigh up, not to mention his chest since his shirt and robe was torn off somewhere back towards Hogwarts. Finally, Harry was dropped and swiftly he turned around to see what had attacked him. What it was he hadn't a clue, it was a cat, as big as a tiger if not bigger and it was all black except a white star on its forehead and white stripes on the bottom of its legs and tail. A tail which was bladed with twin blades, like two scythes laid side by side and faced away from the other. The cat also had a stiff mane running down its back ending slightly past its shoulder blades. The cat watched him for a moment before lunging at him again and instinctively Harry throw up his hands to protect himself while letting loose a scream.

Only to knock the attacking cat away with a powerful blast of wild magic. The said cat landed some ten feet away before struggling onto its feet and roaring at Harry in rage. Harry was already running back to the school as fast as his injured leg could carry him. When he heard the answering cries, he speed up faster then he ever thought possible. Crashing through the trees, bushes and undergrowth, Harry didn't stop even when he burst limping, from the trees into the clearing.

"RUN!! ITS COMING!!" He cried shrilly, when he saw his friends and Professor Snape still standing in the distance.

"PLEASE, GET AWAY!!" Harry screamed again as he neared the other frightened looking students.

Before Harry could pass them though, Snape reached out and caught him, like a snitch, pressing him into his chest and trying to calm him but Harry was beyond calming. His mind was in the grip of an animal-like terror.

"PLEASE, ITS COMING, ITS COMING, RUUUNNN!!!" Harry bellowed, struggling to get out of his Professor's hold.

~~Snape POV~~

Snape held the struggling, terrified child (for indeed, right then Potter was nothing more than a injured and panicking child) to his chest, quickly he gently lifted the youth into his arms and ordering the others to follow, took off back to the castle. All the while, the boy-who-lived was clinging tightly to him and had his head pressed under Snape's chin. Snape's concern was growing quickly at how fast the boy's temperature was dropping and how much blood he was losing. Finally, rushing into the hospital wing with Potter starting to loose conscienceless, Snape bellowed for Madam Pomfrey, laying the Gryffindor on the nearest bed. To his horror, Potter started to seizure right then and he had to hold the boy down and try to prevent him from hurting himself.

"Severus, what is...?" Madam Pomfrey trailed off when she saw Potter, quickly she turned and ran for the necessary potions.

"Come on, Potter, don't do this. You've survived so many life-threatening situations, don't let this kill you now." Snape whispered to the convulsing child and gradually the shaking stopped. When Snape could stand up again he helped Poppy administer the potions.

"I will return, Poppy, I must make a fire-call to the Headmaster and to Potter's do... Godfather, explaining what has happened as best I can." He said before rushing away and ushering the forgotten students out of the room with him.

~~the next night~~

"Albus, the boy's fever isn't getting any better and his wounds are not responding to any of the potions. There must be something else wrong."

"What do you mean, Poppy?"

"We don't know what bit Mr. Potter to begin with, what if it had a decease?"

"A decease!?" Sirius cried, turning to look at the small, pale and sweating form of his Godson.

"Yes, a decease, that's why I would like Severus to start taking blood tests. Unless we can find out what is wrong then Mr. Potter will die."

"Isn't there anything you can tell us about the bite, Poppy?" Remus asked, sitting beside the young Gryffindor's bed.

"Well, judging from the size of the original bite...."

"Original bite?" Severus spoke up from he stood in the corner of the room.

"Yes original bite, this creature bit him only once, but the wound was torn further from it dragging him." Poppy explain, looking at the four others in the room. "Anyway, as I was saying, the size of the original bite is identifiable to an animal the size of a tiger if not larger, I believe the...ah... attacker was of the cat family, and strangely enough the cat didn't do half the damage it could have."

"What do you mean 'didn't do half the damage it could have'? I think it did quite a bit of damage!" Sirius barked, pacing around in his anger.

"What I mean is a cat this size could have easily torn Harry's leg off entirely."

After that everyone was silent for a long time only to be brought out of their thoughts by Harry's mew of discomfort.

"Severus, you may take the blood sample needed for you tests." Headmaster Dumbledore stated, walking towards the small teen's bed.

Snape walked out of the corner he was standing in and ignoring Sirius' growl he approached Potter's bed. Pulling out three small vials and sitting on the bed, he gently took the boy's thin arm in his hand. Poppy was already there and together they filled the three vials with Potter's blood before Snape carefully placed those vials in his robes and excused himself to work on the needed tests.

~~Two Days Later~~

"Well, Severus, what did the tests find?" Albus asked, the five of them were all in the hospital wing with Harry who still hadn't woken-up yet.

"It's as we feared, there is some type of infection but it's more than that." Snape replied, wishing that he had better news.

"What do you mean 'it's more than that', Severus?" The headmaster asked.

"The infection seems to be not only spreading through the boy's system but its changing the boy's blood and possible body as well." Snape answered. "Its behaving like the werewolf infection, so I have reason to believe that the...cat... that bit Harry was some kind of Lycanthrope."

"But...but how, I thought werewolves were the only lycanthropes to be found?" Sirius questioned, shocked senseless by the news.

"Yes, so did all of we but we could all be wrong." Albus stated, watching the comatose boy. "We will have to wait and see what this brings."

Everyone was silent for quiet some time unable to believe this horrible news was real.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: **Harry Potter and all it's characters belong to J.K. Rowling, although I do own the Mastakos and maybe later a few other little characters.

Thanks to the following for reviewing: Spiorad...sunsethill...rosiegirl...and amanda.

**Chapter Three: **_Harry awakens...Sudden Healing...The Change Begins_

~~Three days later~~

Harry had been unconscious for six days and in the afternoon of the 6st day, he opened his eyes and looked around. He remembered slowly everything that had happened and seeing no one, he swung his legs over the side of the bed. Wincing a little at the slight twinges of pain from his right leg he stood weakly and limped into the nearby bathroom. Looking into the mirror he was shocked at the sight of his face staring pale and wasted out at him. His skin was so pale it was tinged gray and he had huge dark circles under his eyes, not to mention his face had a starved thinness to it, but what really caught his attention was his fringe. His fringe of hair that always covered his scar was no longer raven black like the rest of his hair, it was white, not blond-white either, but pure white like freshly fallen snow.

Shaking his head feeling very confused, Harry went about his business and left the bathroom, only to run into Madam Pomfrey who was coming out of her office.

"Oh, Harry, you're awake and you're out of bed! This is great, but get back in bed and stay there! I'll be right back!" She exclaimed excitedly, before rushing towards the hospital wing doors and opening them.

Harry could clearly hear her snatching a student from the hall and telling them to tell the Headmaster to come to the hospital wing as swiftly as he could and Harry could hear her telling the male student to be quick about it. It took a few moments for Harry to realize that he shouldn't be able to hear anything so clearly from this distance, but he shrugged it off as his imagination.

Madam Pomfrey came back and started fussing around him. She was just about to take a medical scan when the hospital wing doors swung open with a bang that sounded like an explosive going off to Harry who cringed away from the noise quickly. In walked Albus Dumbledore, Snape, Remus and to Harry's utter delight Sirius in his dog form. The headmaster shut and warded the doors with locking and silencing charms, while Sirius turned back into his human form. Harry didn't remember moving, but suddenly he was wrapping his arms around his godfather's waist and crying into his chest.

Standing leaning on his good leg mostly and on his godfather, Harry forgot everything else in the world. His senses taking up by the sound of Sirius' heart beating like thunder in Harry ears, the feel of his heat almost burning Harry's skin and the Sirius' smell enveloping Harry in all it's strength. It took Harry a minute to come out of it and realize that someone was talking to him and that someone was Madam Pomfrey.

"Mr. Potter, you will come back to this bed right this minute, young man. We have to check you over now."

"But I feel fine." Harry said, surprised that it was true, his leg no longer hurt and he was feeling stronger as every second went by.

"No back talk, Mr. Potter, just listen to Madam Pomfrey." Snape said from where he stood by Harry's 'bed'.

Harry walked back to his bed reluctantly but without limping this time around. He sat slowly on the bed, feeling uncomfortable with everyone around, something inside him said that he shouldn't let himself be cornered. Disregarding the feeling, he stayed still while Madam Pomfrey scanned him with her wand, but when she told him to drop his trousers that was where he drew the line. He opened his mouth to argued, but suddenly Snape firmly pushed him onto his back and swiftly though gently tugged Harry's trousers off! Harry was so surprised, he didn't do anything but stare up at his Professor in complete and utter shock, only to look back at Madam Pomfrey when she let a gasp.

She was looking at Harry right leg and Harry looked down to see what she was so upset about, he couldn't understand her shock, there was nothing on his leg but some light scratches. "Madam Pomfrey, I told you I was fine. See I'm just scratched up a little, nothing to worry about."

"Nothing to worry about? Potter do you even remember what happened to you?"Snape barked, receiving a glare from Sirius.

"Yes, I do. The cat obviously didn't do much damage even though it felt worse, maybe I was...I don't know...maybe it felt worse because I was shocked."

"The cat, Harry? Do you know what bit you? Are you sure it was a cat?" Remus asked, walking over to crouch beside Harry's bed and Harry suddenly wanted to push him away, to get away from him, but he curbed that desire with a confused frown.

"Yes, how could I forget, it was like a cat I'd never seen before."

"Harry, if I get my pensieve, will you show us what you saw?" The Headmaster asked and after Harry nodded, he hurried away.

Only to return about five minutes later with the rare bowl, once he was done showing Harry how to remove a memory, Harry pulled the attack memory out and placed it in the pensieve. When it was inside the adults in the room all leaned towards the bowl and looked in. After a few minutes, they all blinked and looked away, all of them were obviously deep in thought.

"Albus, what was it? I never seen anything like it before." Remus said sitting on the bed beside Harry who felt the need to hiss at his friend and wasn't happy with the impulse.

"I don't know, we will all have to search for the answer, I will order books that may tell us what we want to know." Albus said, walking around the side of the bed to stand on the opposite side of Remus with Harry in the center.

Harry was feeling really weird now, he felt like he wanted to claw everyone around him, to chase them away. He knew this wasn't normal behavior and before he could think about it, he was out of bed and across the room moving away from everyone. He looked up at the surprised faces of the others and when Madam Pomfrey approached, Harry couldn't quite stop the cat-like growl that bubbled up his throat. Madam Pomfrey stopped and stay where she was, while the others seemed a bit more worried.

"What's wrong with me? Why am I feeling so weird?" Harry asked, a feeling of panic building up inside and in response, he crouched down wrapping his arms around himself.

"Harry, the cat...we believe was a...a type of lycanthrope." Remus said, approaching slowly and kneeling not to far away.

"What? You mean I'm a...a werecat!?"Harry cried, standing and backing further away from everyone, back towards the hospital wing door, he didn't notice Snape slink around to stand between him and the door out. "Is there a cure? Can't anything be done!?"

Madam Pomfrey, Remus, and the Headmaster shock their heads, and Sirius looked sorrowfully at the ground. Harry shook his head wildly, running his hands through his hair compulsively, before grabbing two handfuls and pulling, moaning and denying the whole situation.

"Harry, don't you hurt yourself!" Sirius ordered coming forward quickly, but that was a mistake as Harry suddenly turned and tried to bolt for the door.

Tried being the word, as before he got two steps, Snape grabbed him and held him to his chest. "Potter, running won't make this go away, it'll only make it worse!"

"I can't! I don't want this!" Harry screamed, his voice muffled by his professor's chest and in his panic and confusion he gripped the teacher tightly, feeling like without someone to hold onto him he would fall away to pieces.

Suddenly Harry was jerk away from Snape, even though he tried to hold on and turned around to be smashed against Sirius' chest. He grabbed onto his godfather's body, needing to hold onto something...somebody to keep from shattering apart. Above him, Sirius was glaring at Snape and strangely enough Snape was glaring right back at Sirius. He also looked like he wanted to grab the now werecat Potter out of Sirius' arms. Remus, seeing a fight about to breakout between the two, quickly intervened. Stepping between the the two adults, Remus placed his hand on Sirius' shoulder.

"Why don't we get Harry back in bed and give him...perhaps a calming draft?"

"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea." Sirius said picking up the boy and taking him to the bed. "Why the hell is he so light?"

"He hasn't been eating or sleeping well this past school year." Madam Pomfrey supplied, helping him tuck the still clinging boy into the bed. "He was too stressed from dealing with that Umbridge women and was tormented from nightmares all year long."

"Here you go, Harry, drink up, it's a calming draft for your nerves. Don't worry, everything will be alright." Remus said, taking the empty vial from Harry and helping him lay down.

Harry, calm now, felt sleep pull him under and he gladly submitted to it.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: **Harry Potter and all it's characters belong to J.K. Rowling, although I do own the Mastakos and maybe later a few other little characters.

**Author's note:** I'm sorry it's taken me a while to update, I haven't been feeling good this week, but here is the next chapter. I have a picture (though not very good) of the 'were cat' Harry was bitten by and what he looks like now on my website, feel free to check it out. I also like to thank the following for reviewing: acacia59601...Spiorad...baeryl

**Chapter Four: **_Aggression Heightened... And You're Turning Into A Cat!_

The next day Harry woke up feeling irritable. He felt like growling at everyone, and he didn't feel any better after he remembered the news he had received the day before. He was also feeling restless, hot, thirsty, hungry and in need of a long bath. That was where Headmaster Dumbledore and Professor Snape found him when they came in. He was crouching on the stand next to the bed and licking his arm thoroughly before rubbing it over his head. Harry had heard them come in, he even heard them approaching five minutes ago, but he ignored them, concentrating instead on getting CLEAN. He continued to ignore them even as the two adults shared a look between themselves. The only thing that matter to Harry right then was getting the dirt OFF!

"Ah... Harry, good to see you up and...about." Albus said, staring at the dark-haired boy like he'd never seen him before.

When Harry didn't answer, choosing to instead continue 'cleaning' himself, Snape got angry and quickly approached the crouched figure. Harry heard him coming and quickly looked up hissing at the Professor. Snape stopped and getting annoyed barked out at the young Gryffindor.

"For Merlin's sake, Potter, what are you doing!?"

"Cleaning."

"What?"

"I have to get the dirt off, I have to be clean." Harry replied, showing Snape his arm, which was actually very clean, before going back to licking it.

"I see...." Snape said, with an eyebrow raised. "Although I...regret to inform you, that no amount of...cleaning...will help with your hair."

Harry gave Snape a look (anyone who has cats and does or says something stupid near them has seen this look), Snape returned the look with one of his 'death glares' only to become irritable when it has no effect on the 'cat-boy'. Walking around to the other side of the bed, Snape turned slowly to face the boy-who-lived-to-become-a-werecat.

"I must say Potter, that getting bit by that cat has made you more like you father than ever, maybe even more so, I actually don't recall him being quite this arrogant."

Harry, upon hearing that, forgot his cleaning and lifting his head, snarling at the Professor. When Snape gave him one of his smirks, Harry lost it and from the bed stand where he crouched, he sprang up and over the bed to land beside the shocked Potions Master.

"How dare you call me arrogant when you know next to nothing about me!!"

"Watch your tongue, Potter! You're still in school and I am still your Professor! Do you want all the points taking from your house!?"

"What's it matter to me!? Now that I am this!? Do you actually think the ministry will allow me to remain in school!?"

"What in Merlin's name are you talking about Potter?!"

"I'm a werecat now! To them that's no better than a rabid animal! Look how they treat Remus!"

"Foolish boy!! Do you think they're going to find this out! That we plan to wave this around in everyone's faces!!?"

"How can they not find out!? I feel myself changing even as we argue!"

"Come now, Potter don't...!" Snape trailed off though when he caught sight of Harry's eyes, moving quickly and unexpectedly, Snape firmly grabbed Harry's head in his two hands and turned the boy's head up so he could see better.

As he thought, Harry's green eyes now had cat-like pupils and with Harry's lips pulled back slightly, Snape saw his teeth were also very cat-like now.

"See? I'm a monster now!" Harry stated, pulling his head out of his Professor's hands, 'I'm a freak now just like the Dursleys always said', Harry thought to himself.

"Harry, you're not a monster and Professor Snape is right, the Ministry will not find out about this. We'll think of something, so don't you worry." The Headmaster reassured, walking over to the distressed teen.

"I don't know Headmaster, perhaps Potter is right. Maybe we should...place...him somewhere he won't cause problems?"

"Severus, please, you're not helping right now."

"Sorry, Headmaster." Snape said unconvincingly, looking out the nearby window.

The Headmaster shook his head and turned his attention to the upset teen. For a moment Albus just looked at the young man before him. It's true that Harry now had some changes, from his white fringe, strange eyes and his teeth, but all in all he looked the same. Albus looked down at where the boy was scratching his fingernail on his right hand's pointer finger, while Albus looked the nail right came off!! Everyone seemed so shocked at this that no one could even speak for a few long moments. Finally Albus turned to Snape who was looking at the fingernail in a mixture of astonishment, disgust and horror.

"Severus, I'm going to need you to do another blood test for Harry and see just what is going on with his blood now."

"Yes, of course Headmaster." Snape said, pulling out an empty vial, while still looking at the finger with the missing nail.

In the time it took for the Headmaster to request this and for Snape to pull out an empty vial and a small clean knife, Harry had already pulled off the rest of his nails on his right hand.

"Potter would you stop it, if your nails are going to fall off, let them fall off. Don't pull them off, it's disgusting." Snape snapped, approaching the now wary boy who growled and backed away from the knife. "Come now, Potter, don't be childish, I'm not going to kill you. However much I may want to at times."

The last sentence was spoken in a low voice that obviously Harry wasn't meant to hear, but hear he did and it made him growl, hiss, and show his 'fangs' at the approaching Professor. Said Professor, with speed that surprised even himself, quickly grabbed Harry's left hand and Harry responded by trying to 'claw' him with his right hand. This didn't do much, so still struggling Harry attempted to bite the Professor who quickly let go of him and stepped away. Once he was released, Harry, insane with panic jumped onto the headboard of the bed and crouched there, hissing.

"Oh dear, we're going to need help, I'll call Remus and Sirius up to calm him." The Headmaster said and entered Madam Pomfrey's office to call for back up.

Not a few moments later, Remus and Sirius step out of the office with the Headmaster who was explaining what was needed. They stopped though at the sight of Harry balanced on the headboard, hissing at Snape.

"Hello Harry, why don't you come down off of there and sit on the bed with us?" Remus asked, slowly approaching and sitting at the bottom of the bed.

Harry looked at his friend and Godfather before looking at Snape who wasn't approaching with the knife any more. Then glancing at the twinkling Headmaster who smile gently at him, Harry made his decision. Deciding that it looked safe, Harry climbed down and sat next to Remus with Sirius sitting on the other side of Harry. Suddenly something inside warned Harry that he should move, but before he could, Remus and Sirius lunged forward and grabbed him. Holding his arms and legs in such a way that Harry couldn't bite or claw at them. Struggling violently, he didn't notice Sirius nod to the Headmaster who turned and shot a meaningful look at Snape. Snape quickly approached and Harry who could only see something large and black coming, freaked out.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I won't do it again... I promise, don't hurt me. I'm sorry...I...I'm...I'm sorry!" Harry cried, no longer seeing his Professor, but rather the huge form of his uncle.

Needless to say the others in the room were terrible surprise and distressed by Harry outburst. Particularly Snape who was used to dealing with abused children from his house and could easily see the signs of abuse. He could only wonder why he didn't see it before, perhaps because he never thought to look before with Potter or perhaps because Potter was a better actor than Snape gave him credit for or it could be because Potter was never in a situation like this before. That didn't explain why no one else never notice anything before, were they all just too blind?

"Shh... it's okay, P...Harry, it'll just hurt for a moment than we'll heal it up and it won't hurt anymore." Snape said soothingly, ignoring the looks he was getting from the other adults in the room.

Quickly Snape took the blood sample and backed away, while Sirius and Remus let go of Harry who rolled of the bed and onto the floor before sliding under said bed and hiding. When Sirius tried to go under and get him out though, Snape stopped him.

"Don't, you'll make it worse, he'll come out when he's ready."

"How do you know this?" Remus asked, cutting of Sirius when he looked like he was going to argue.

"I've handled abused children before, when they hide it's not a good idea to try and get them out of their hiding places. They'll come out on their own when they feel it is safe. Now if you don't mind, I have tests to run." Snape replied and left for the dungeons, swooping out of the room like a giant bat.

~~Three hours later~~

Snape turned out to be right, much to Sirius' displeasure, about Harry coming out on his own. Not an hour after he left, Harry emerged, sheepishly, from under the bed. He apologized continuously for causing such a scene and only stopped when Sirius threatened to dump a bucket of ice-water on his head. Now they were waiting for Snape to come and tell them of his findings, but they didn't have to wait to long. Three hours after he left he returned and acting as if Harry hadn't done anything out of the ordinary, much to Harry gratitude, Snape made his announcement.

"I find myself at a loss on how to explain my findings... so I will start with the basics. Potter, unlike a werewolf, is turning into a cat when it's not a full moon. In my findings though, it seems as if with time he may be able to control this change even though right now the change is out of his control. The change is unusual in the fact that sometimes the changes in his blood are extreme and other times it seems like his blood is almost completely human." Snape said to the five (Madam Pomfrey was now there) people gathered together in the room.

"You're turning into a cat, Potter." Snape clarified with a sneer when he saw the confused look on both Harry's and Sirius' faces.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: **Harry Potter and all it's characters belong to J.K. Rowling, although I do own the Mastakos and maybe later a few other little characters.

**Author's note: **I like to thank the following for their reviews: Spiorad...Harriverse...and Ash. I was uncertain on my spelling on some parts of this, if you notice any mistakes please let me know so I can fix them, thanks.

**Chapter Five: **_The Search...Harry's Metamorphosis...The Calling._

Severus Snape, Potions Master of Hogwarts, closed the book he was reading with a frustrated sigh. The book, 'One Hundred and One Magical Creatures' by Maybell Rosecutter, didn't mention one word about the strange werecat that bit Potter. It was the 20th book he had read through looking for answers, as they all were. All being, himself, the Headmaster and just about every other member of the Order and so far there wasn't a single thing they've found. It had been three days since Potter's nails had fallen off and they discovered his abuse. How far that abuse went they didn't know...yet, the boy was being very closed mouth about it. Severus still couldn't believe how horribly wrong he'd been about Potter who was pacing restlessly nearby from where Severus was sitting.

The youth's metamorphosis was progressing quickly, but not quickly enough for P...Harry. Harry, who over the course of the three days, has grown a tail and had his ears migrate to the top of his head, not to mention the other changes. Severus had to struggle to keep his face straight as every time he looked at the boy he felt a strong urge to laugh. That wouldn't help the boy's deteriorating temper any, so far the child has tried to claw (as he now had retractable claws), bite and slice everyone unlucky enough to push him. The only ones able to remain with him for any amount of time were the Headmaster, Black, Lupin, Madam Pomfrey and himself. Minerva had tried to remain with the boy, but apparently were cats and animagus cats do not get along well. Others have tried, but again the boy's temper was only getting more insane at every passing moment.

After watching the white fringed, scythed tailed young man walking back and forth by the window, Severus picked up another book from his diminishing pile and opened it to continue with the search. He had to admit he felt bad for the boy, he might not have been fond of the brat before, but that didn't mean he wished for anything like this to happen. Severus was disturbed from his reading by the sound of a thunk and two crashes. Looking up, Severus sneered when he saw that Harry had sliced through the bottom foot board with his tail blade in a fit of temper. Waving his wand, Severus fix the bed and went back to reading. He looked up once more irate when the sound of Harry's tail slicing the foot board rung out again.

Looking sourly at the boy who was grinning devilishly at his previously despised Professor, Severus fix the bed once more adding a protection charm to it as well. Going back to reading, Severus smirked when he heard a thud and then a grunt. Looking up, he saw that the Gryffindor had tried to cut through the bed again only to have his tail get stuck. Harry glared at the Potions Master as he pulled furtively on his trapped tail, obviously waiting for Severus to help him out.

"Problem, Mr. Potter?" Severus said mildly, laughing inside at the look on the boy's face, it didn't take much these days to make him mad.

"I would have thought that obvious, my tail is stuck, could you get it out for me?"

"I see nothing wrong with your tail, you should stop telling lies. Oh, and five points from Gryffindor for cheek." Severus smirked darkly as he watched Harry turn away from him angrily and sit on the bottom of the bed, his tail still stuck in the foot board.

"Oh, by the way Potter, since you're not doing anything. Now might be a good time to tell me what that show you put on three days ago was about?" Severus spoke silkily, putting aside his book and giving the snarky teenager his attention.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Harry replied, dancing around his question. "Did you find anything out about the cat that bit me yet?"

"No, and don't try to change the subject, little Gryffindor, I've been in Slytherin to long to be fooled by such a tactic."

"I can't tell you, it's not important."

"Oh, I think you can and I think it is important."

"I can't and it's not important because I've dealt with it this long, so it's not that big a deal." Harry insisted, stubbornly refusing to even look at the Potions Master.

Sighing, Severus got up and sitting in front of Potter grabbed his shoulders, Harry wasn't able to stop the flinch that occurred. "This is a big deal, tell me Potter and I'll make sure that you'll never have to go back to those muggles again."

"Why do you care? What's in it for you?"

"Why Potter, you sound like a Slytherin. Why I care...I care because I made a huge mistake judging you and I always fix my mistakes. What's in it for me... I'm a teacher Potter, it's my job to make sure the students of this school are safe."

"That maybe, but I'm still not telling you anything because there is nothing to tell."

"Foolish boy, do you want to go back to those muggles!?"

"It doesn't matter what I want, the blood wards...."

"The blood wards are pointless if your relatives kill you."

"You're not the first person to try to help me, the last person failed and was transferred to a new school. What makes you think that you'll succeed?"

"Potter after five years have you ever known me to fail at getting what I want?"

"Yes...usually when it comes to me."

"Those times I did fail...yes...but this time I'm not out to get you. This time I only want to help you and I WILL not fail. So Potter, tell me what those muggles did to you."

"I won't tell you anything!" Harry cried, trying to pull his tail out of the foot board and leave the room, but his tail was stuck firmly.

"Whatever are you ashamed of it's not your fault that your 'family' is abusive."

"I'm not ashamed of anything, nothing is wrong. Besides, I'm the boy-who-lived, everyone is expecting me to be their savior. What kind of savior am I if I can't even defend myself from my muggle uncle?"

"If they have problems with a child not being able to defend himself from his adult uncle than they're the ones with problems. Now no more delaying, tell me what they did to you."

Harry fought Severus for three hours, before he finally gave in and told Severus everything, from the forced starvation and getting locked into his room. All the way to the broken bones, bruises, scars, and attempted rapes (always prevented by Harry's wild magic). Severus listened and recorded everything away for later use in a pensieve, these muggles were going down. After Harry was done speaking Severus freed his tail, gave him some water and a dreamless sleep potion before getting him in bed and leaving to find the Headmaster. He found said Headmaster on his way to Harry's private room and after quietly telling him that he needed to speak with him privately Albus lead the way to his office. Once there Severus asked Albus for his pensieve and after he go it, Severus place his memories of the earlier conversation with Harry into it.

Severus paced, much the same as Harry did earlier, around the office while he waited for the Headmaster to watch the memories. He couldn't help but remember when Harry had invaded his own memories before, Severus still felt some anger towards Harry from that. Before he could dwell on it though, the Headmaster pulled himself away from the pensieve and sat wearily behind his desk.

"He can not return to the Dursley's, but the ministry will try everything in their power to make him go back even going as far a saying the conversation you had with Harry was all a lie. We need to get the Dursleys to silently sign over their rights as Harry's guardians, but to who? Sirius would take him...but he still being hunted by the ministry. Remus is a werewolf and the Weasleys have far to many children. I'm sure they would love to adopt him, but that would place them in danger of Voldemort." Albus thought out loud before going completely silent, gazing into the distance, suddenly he looked at Severus and Severus knew what he was going to say even before he said it.

"Severus, you are the only one capable of adopting Harry and teaching him all he needs to know."

"But Albus what about my spying?"

"You will still spy, this adoption will be done secretly, with no one who doesn't need to know finding out. Unless you refuse?"

"No, I won't refuse." Severus responded after several minutes deep in thought.

"Good, you'll go tonight to the Dursleys, now let' s get some details worked out." They spent the next hour and half working through everything that needed to be done.

~~The next morning~~

The Headmaster and Severus walked quickly to Harry's private room after Madam Pomfrey called them over the fire, she sounded frantic and told them to hurry as fast as they could. Severus had just woken up from a late night bullying the Dursleys into compliance and was dreading having to tell Harry. Once they got to the room, Madam Pomfrey stopped them from going in, flicking her wand in a circle, she quickly cast a silencing charm before turning to the others.

"I nearly lost a limb going in there, Headmaster, it seems Harry's metamorphosis is complete. I must say that seeing the cat that attacked Harry up close is rather disturbing."

"So Potter is now the cat, I'll have to get more blood samples as much as I hate to get near him as he is."

"Yes, we'll have to stun him and do the work quickly." Albus said. "I'll call Remus and Sirius for their help."

It wasn't long before Sirius and Remus was standing outside Harry's door talking with Albus.

"So Remus and I just go in there and stun Harry, and everyone is okay with this, I mean the boy's been abused. I highly doubt he going to respond well to getting fire at."

"Yes, I understand your concern but we must get that blood sample. Harry, I'm sure will forgive us...eventually. Now we've wasted enough time." Albus replied, gesturing towards the closed door.

Sighing, Sirius and Remus walked to the door with their wands drawn and pointed, opening it quickly on the count of three they stepped into the room and stopped. The room was empty, they looked everywhere...in the closet...under the bed...even out the window. Finally turning to the three outside the room, they shrugged their shoulders and shook their heads, clearly confused.

"Well?" Snape snapped, glaring at them.

"He's not in here anymore, we've looked everywhere, it's not like a giant cat can up and disappear like a mouse." Sirius snapped back, glaring back at his most hated rival, only for that glare to turn into a look of terror.

The five looked on in fascinated horror, as a cat the size of lion climbed down from where it was hanging on the ceiling. Its massive head turned and looked at Sirius and Remus, while its mouth opened in a silent snarl, nearly 12" long fangs gleaming silver in the dull light. Suddenly the creature, who was Harry, turned and ran towards the three outside the room, they instinctively jumped out of the way. Meanwhile, the huge cat kept going, running with all its might for the front doors. Before he could get there though, Hagrid who had just come in those very doors, wrestled him to the ground (ever see the crocodile hunter?). When the five caught up, they stunned the cat and stood around its body, discussing what to do next.

"Is it obvious, we take him back to his room, put a collar on his neck and chain him up, while at the same time take the blood samples I need." Severus pointed out mildly, looking down at the huge cat who was now legally his son.

Albus opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted by a sudden roaring echoing in through the front door, which were still opened. When the roar sounded, cat-Harry twitched as if responding. Severus quickly went to the doors and shut them before turning back around and striding back to where the others gathered.

"I'd recognize the sound of that roar anywhere, Headmaster, it's the same roar that sounded when Potter got away. The other werecats must be trying to call out this one, we must get him back to his room." Severus said urgently, watching while Hagrid quickly but gently picked the huge cat up like it were the size of a kitten.

The others quietly followed the half-giant and Severus back to Harry's room and hoped to the gods he didn't wake before then.


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: **Harry Potter and all it's characters belong to J.K. Rowling, although I do own the Mastakos and maybe later a few other little characters.

**Chapter Six: **_Snape is one stubborn b..., What do you mean he's adopted me!?_

Harry woke the next day with the feeling of a heavy chain and collar around his neck and when he reached up to touch it he found that his arms and hands weren't working right. Startled, Harry look down and saw to his horror that he had paws and not hands. Standing up quickly, he looked behind himself and saw his body straight out behind, furred and for the most part black. Taking stock of the room he was in, Harry was surprised to find himself in his personal rooms at the castle. Sirius was sitting a good deal away, far enough that Harry's chain could not reach him. The young Gryffindor flicked his ears and sniffed at the new world of sounds and smells around him.

Looking back at the chain holding him, Harry saw several ways that he might be able to get free. Turning around completely, Harry worked for ten minutes just to get the chain off the wall. When it hit the ground it made a great clatter and Harry looked at Sirius. Luckily, Sirius only shifted slightly, but he never woke. Walking towards the door, Harry tried to solve how to get it open, but all the ways he thought of didn't work. Getting frustrated, he walked back to his Godfather, pushing him off his chair and waking him up.

"What...!?" Sirius cried, before he looked up and saw the huge cat towering over him. "Ha...Harry, are you in control?" He asked, slowly backing up from the werecat before him.

Harry had no idea how to answer him, so he just settled on nodding his head. Sirius seemed to relax greatly and standing up made for the fire place to make the fire-call to the others. Once he had done that he sat down and looked at Harry. Said boy-turned-cat, walked over to where his Godfather was sitting and nudged him with his nose, purring loudly when Sirius stroked his nose.

"Wow Harry, the strangest things just happen to you, don't they?" Harry sniffed his agreement, when he was told he was turning into a cat, he never thought his mind would remain his own.

Before Sirius could say anymore, the fire flared green and the Headmaster, Remus, Poppy and Snape came through. All of them staring at the sight of Sirius petting the huge black and white cat.

"I take it Harry is in control." The Headmaster stated, approaching the two by the bed.

"Yes." Sirius said at the same time Harry nodded his head, looking up into the Headmaster's twinkling eyes.

"Good. That means Severus can take another blood sample with out having to knock Harry unconscious."

"Well I should hope not." Sirius said while Harry went over to greet the Headmaster, butting him with his massive head, before going over and greeting the others in the room likewise.

When he went to greet Snape though, he was pushed away. Upset Harry mewled loudly and pushed him back, sending Snape sliding across the floor. Snape got up and flicked his wand at Harry, who felt a strange tingle all over his body. Sitting down, the young Gryffindor started grooming his right leg when he noticed his once black fur was now green and the white stripes were now silver. Harry gave Snape a look and then he turned his back to the jerk. Said jerk was smirking at the disgusted werecat, Sirius glared at the Head-Of-Slytherin-House over the now silver and green cat.

After the blood sample was taken, Snape sat back in a chair by the window and the Headmaster stood up and approached Harry. Before he could say anything though, Harry suddenly ran into the bathroom. Harry had sat quietly while Snape took some of his blood, but while he did so he was also trying to force his body out of this cat form. At first he thought he had failed because nothing had happened but just as the Headmaster had stood up, Harry had felt a horrible pain in his abdomen. Not knowing what to do, Harry had run into the bathroom, thinking that he was going to sick up, but by than he noticed that the pain was spreading. So dropping down into a crouch, Harry closed his eyes and waited for the terrible pain to pass.

When Harry ran into bathroom the others followed him, confused and a little frightened by his behavior. Looking in, they saw him crouch down and before Sirius could inquire what was wrong, they all noticed something shocking. The cat before them was slowly changing, the fur receding, the bones shifting and replacing themselves until a naked but relatively normal looking Harry was before them. After a moment Harry shifted and looked over at them, sitting up slowly. Snape practically grinned, the boy's hair was still silver and green and when he looked up at Snape his eyes were the same green colored. Harry blushed when he realized he was human again and butt naked with everyone staring at him.

Before anyone could say anything though, Harry looked at the door and wished that it was closed and locked. Much to his surprise and to the surprise of everyone else, the door swung shut on its own and locked. Standing up Harry went to the sink to splash some water on his face, after he done that he looked up into the mirror above the sink and noticed his hair was still green and silver. Deciding to try his luck, Harry closed his eyes and thought about what his hair looked like before and he willed it to be that same color (or colors) again. When he opened his eyes and looked in the mirror, Harry was pleased to find that it had worked. It was then that Sirius started knocking on the door, asking to come in.

Harry after grabbing a towel and wrapping it around his waist, willed the door to unlock and open, letting his Godfather in. "Harry, I really have to tell you something and you probably won't like it." Sirius said coming into the room and closing the door behind him. "Oh, you got you hair back to normal!"

"Yeah, no thanks to that jerk in there."

"Speaking of that jerk in there...."

"I mean who does he think he is, all I was doing was saying hi. He didn't have to push me!"

"Harry...."

"And then he gets mad and changes my hair colors on me when I return the favor. Who does he think he is!"

"He's the man who's adopted you."

"Snape is one stubborn b..., what do you mean he's adopted me?"

"I mean he's your new guardian, the Dursley's signed you over night before last. It's official."

"No one thought to ask me first before they did this."

"Harry, it's for the best."

"Be that as it may, don't you think I deserve to know when something like this is about to go down, after all it is my life!"

"Harry...."

"No...no, just leave."

"Come on, Harry...."

"No, I can't deal with this right now. Get out."

"Alright, but when you need me you know I'll be nearby, right?"

"...." Sirius looking upset leaves the bathroom, and Harry who was so angry he could barely think, sat down on the closed toilet after he locked the door again.

_They always did this, always thought to decide for him what he was going to do with his life_. Harry fumed, sitting and looking out the stained glass window beside him.

{Why don't you leave then?} A voice asked deep in his mind, Harry jumped in his seat, he thought at first he was making it up, but then it sounded again. {You are after all, above the humans.}

That time Harry knew it wasn't his imagination and it wasn't his 'inner' voice, especially since his 'inner' voice isn't female. "Who are you?" He spoke aloud.

When he wasn't answered, he tried again, thinking the words this time. '_Who are you_?'

{I'm the one who made you what you are.}

'_You're the cat that attacked me. Why_?'

{I'm a mastako, as you now are. As for why I bit you, because you have the power that we all have. You belong with us.}

'_What do you mean by the power you all have, and how do I belong with you? I belong here at Hogwarts.'_

{You have a power that is different from all the other humans, that's what made you change. If you didn't have it you wouldn't have changed. That's why you belong with us, after all do you really belong in a place where everyone keeps deciding your future for you?}

'_I...I...no_.'

{I thought not. Tonight, sneak out of your room and head for the dark forest. From there we will take you back to our den.}

'_What if they stop me_?'

{Don't let them.}

'_What do you mean, don't let them. That's not as easy as it sounds, you know_.'

{Ah... But it is, you're no longer human, you can do things that they can't.}

'_What things_?'

{Move faster than they can see, hypnotize them with your eyes and fade into the shadows around you to name a few.}

'_All those, and how do I do all that? Do I just will it to happen_?'

{Yes, you just will it to happen and it will happen. If you will it hard enough.}

'_What is your name anyway_?'

{Oh, I should have told you that first thing, oh well. My name is Krystothym.}


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: **Harry Potter and all it's characters belong to J.K. Rowling, although I do own the Mastakos and maybe later a few other little characters.

**Chapter Seven: **_Escape Into Another World._

That night Harry Potter, the-boy-who-lived-to-become-a-mastako, slipped unseen out of his private rooms. Earlier, after Harry was told that he was now Snape's adoptive son, he waited for the adults to leave his room before he came out and locked his door. They could always get in through the flue, but Harry would just have to deal with that when the time came. After locking the door, he waited, not even answering the door for Ron and Hermione. Then when the the sun went down and the moon showed like a sideways smile, Harry got ready to leave. He packed clothes and place his wand in his pocket.

The halls were dark except for a stream of moonlight that showed through the windows. Harry quietly ran down the hall, his feet making no sound. Suddenly, Harry heard the sound of approaching footsteps, panicking he flung himself up onto the ceiling. Underneath him, Snape walked past quickly and Harry remembered that he forgot to close the doors to his private rooms. Waiting until Snape was far enough away, Harry jumped down, running as fast as he could now for the exit. The boy could hear a quiet curse from far behind him and he picked up the pace only to collide with Filch.

Filch gave a cry of surprise when the two of them crashed to the ground, Harry quickly rolled off of him and jumping past Ms. Norris, continued running at an even faster pace. He heard Filch scream after him and Snape answering the janitor's cry. Cursing loudly, Harry had to push everything he had into reaching the exit. Finally, Harry slammed open the great doors and tore off across the grass for the dark forest. Reaching the tree line, Harry hesitated at the sight of two large mastako males standing at the edge of the woods waiting for him. A gray and red mastako stepped forward and spoke urgently to him.

{My Prince, please you must hurry before they come for you.}

'_Prince?'_

{I will explain along the way, young Prince, but we must leave.}

'_Okay, let's go then.' _Already Harry could hear commotion near the front of the school.

Not wanting to get caught so close to the forest, Harry hurried away with the two large mastakos. They traveled quickly and were soon in the middle of the dark forest. They were able, with their senses, to avoid anything dangerous. Along the way Harry studied the cats before him, one; the one who talked to him, was almost a solid red with gray stripes. The other was a brownish gold with dark brown stripes, he hadn't said anything yet to Harry but he didn't seem to dislike the black haired boy. It was more like he didn't have anything to say and Harry didn't mind because he couldn't think of anything to say either. Instead, Harry looked at the forest around him admiring how beautiful it was now that he could see it so clearly at night.

{Prince, are you alright?} The red mastako asked turning his great head to look at the young mastako.

'_I'm fine, why do you keep calling me Prince?'_

{You were turned by our Queen, so that makes you our Prince.}

'_Your Queen_?'

{Yes our Queen, in our...culture, we have one Queen and one King, and everyone they turn become our princes and princesses. After the Queen, King, princes and princesses, come the warriors who act as fighters and hunters for the pride. Next in line is the medicine mastako and then come the mothers and fathers who have young the more natural way. Followed by the elders and the crippled who share knowledge in times of both trouble and peace. Everyone pulls their own weight, everyone helps the others, our bonds our very strong. The stronger the bond in the pride the more likely the prides survival.}

'_That's really something, so I'm a prince. Are there other princes_?'

{Yes, there are three others, and like them, you'll be expected to hold your own weight. No special treatment there really.}

{You are forgetting the titles and the little shows of respect, Rustic.} Said the brownish-gold mastako, speaking for the first time.

{Oh, yes. But those are really simple things.}

{So you say.}

'_What are these shows of respect_?'

{What Copperbeam means by shows of respect are the titles, bows, and different sleeping areas, but otherwise there are no differences between the mastakos.}

{We are almost there now, Young Prince, Rustic.}

{So we are. Welcome to your new home, Prince.}


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: **Harry Potter and all it's characters belong to J.K. Rowling, although I do own the Mastakos and maybe later a few other little characters.

**Chapter Eight: **_Meeting the Clan._

Harry looked ahead and stared, what had been nothing more than a bunch of thorny bushes now appeared to be an entrance way. It was hidden from the sight of others by magic, Harry could feel it pulsing in the air around him. He was pulled from his stare by his guides moving forward towards said entrance. So drawing in a deep breath, the Gryffindor started forward into the unknown world beyond the thorn patch. On the other side Harry stopped short and stared, before him was a village, but it was a village like he'd never seen before. The huts were made out of sticks, mud and thorny brambles, there was a hearth in front of each hut and some of the fireplaces had boiling water in odd clay pots hovering above the fire. Mastako cubs, in both human and animal forms, ran around playing games of their own design while the adults watch on.

The adults (some in cat form and some not) were doing various chores; some were cooking, others making pots, clothes and weapons, and others were changing the bedding of elderly men and women. Before Harry could move any further in, he was stopped by his guides who gestured with their muzzles at two very large and dignified mastakos coming towards him. One was gray with black stripes, a long flowing mane (almost like a horse's mane) and with massive double tail scythes on the end of a thick and long tail. The other was smaller, pure white with gray stripes, a mane longer than the first and had tail scythes that were smaller than the first but still quiet large. When they stopped before them, Rustic and Copperbeam bowed their heads and gave greetings in a tongue Harry couldn't understand. Then turning around to face Harry, Rustic introduced the newcomers.

{Young Prince, may I introduce to you King Jeroshin and Queen Krystothym.} Rustic said, respectfully gesturing to the first mastako and then the second.

{I thought Queen Krystothym was the one that bit me, yet the one who bit me looks different. How?}

{I did, the cat you saw was Prince Conlan, he let himself be seen as a decoy. It's one of the rules that the Queens and Kings never let themselves be seen by outsiders. As we couldn't be sure if our gift would be excepted by your body, we couldn't let you see me.}

{What do you mean 'gift would be excepted by my body?'}

{Sometimes a person who is bitten by a mastako has an immunity to our gift and isn't turned, so we had to wait in order to know for certain.} King Jeroshin answered, stepping forward to study the newest addition to his clan. {I must say I am glad that the gift took, I feel I have too many daughters.}

{Too many daughters?} Harry asked looking up at the impressive cat before him.

{Yes, your sisters. The Princesses Evaline, Hasana, Jin, Ainsley, and Charity. Your brothers are the Princes Barami, Conlan, and Gareth.}

{How many mastakos are in the clan?} Harry asked, looking over at the very busy mastakos running back and forth

{There are 46 clan members, 47 clan members now that you are one of us. Come, Harry and I will show you and teach you all about your new people.} King Jeroshin answered and as he turned away he twitched his double scythed tail to indicate that Harry should follow.

Passing by a large hut, the mastako king told Harry that it was the warriors' hut and that there are 17 warriors, 7 of those being mother-warriors and father-warriors. Another hut was home to 3 fathers and the hut beside it belonged to 4 mothers and 7 cubs. Nearby was another spacey hut, it was home to the 4 elders and nearing the center of the clan were two large huts. Harry was told that the one on the left was home to the princesses and the one on the right belonged to the princes. That was were he was going to stay and right in the center was a cave. It was here in this cave that the King and Queen called home. All in all, the clan was protected from all sides by the thorn bushes and by the cave.

* * *

Later that night after Harry was introduced to all the other 42 clan members, Harry stood outside the village's protective walls in a field not too far away. Beside him stood Queen Krystothym, they were both in human form. Looking at her, Harry found her to be beautiful, in fact he found everything about this day to be beautiful. Yet he missed his home, Hogwarts, and all his friends there. How could he return to the school, when going back meant going to live with Snape? Sure Snape had been civil to him, but that would surely change as soon as Harry was in his control, wouldn't it? Besides he was starting to like it out here, away from the dangers and stares, out here he could just be himself.

"Now, Harry I know you must feel like you could lift a horse and toss it yards away, but in reality you're still very weak yet. Still just a cub really, so we are going to start working on your strength, stamina and agility. We will also start working on getting you use to your new senses and powers." Queen Krystothym stated, turning to look Harry in the eyes, her silver- gray hair flowing out behind her from the wind.

"What new powers are you talking about? I mean, you mean to tell me I can do more than I did earlier? When I was escaping Snape?" Harry questioned, looking up at the tall female before him.

"Yes, there are a few other abilities you will have. You'll be able to do something called 'shadow diving' and in human form you'll be able to perform a move called a 'slider'. In 'shadow diving', you'll enter one shadow like it's water and surface in another shadow feet away or miles away. Depending on how far you want to go. A 'slider' move is where you will be able to shift quickly from one standing point to another yards away or feet away in a flash."

"Sounds like fun." Harry stated, looking back towards where Hogwarts was.

"You know, in time, after you have learned what you needed to, you can always return to that world."

"I can?"

"Yes, other mastakos have. Some find it too hard to let go of their pasts or their loved ones. Even then they are still of the pride, just further away."

"How many mastakos are living outside the village?"

"65 members actually."

"Wow! That many! Will I ever meet any of them?"

"Without a doubt, we all have a clan meeting once every year. You'll meet them and I believe they all will be fond of you the moment they first see you." Queen Krystothym answered, turning back to the village. "Come now, let's go in. You have a busy day tomorrow and you're going to need your rest."

* * *

She wasn't joking. Just at dawn a Queen warrior named Demetria and a warrior called Tempest woke Harry and together they left the village in cat forms. Queen Warrior Demetria was a small, but sturdy red cat, she had a black mane, but that was it. She was an almost solid color red. Warrior Tempest had a long sand colored mane, and the rest of him was marbled colored with swirling patterns of three shades of gray, black and white. Tempest was very large and seemed depressed, but Harry couldn't tell if he really was.

Once they reached a clearing , Demetria took over his training first. She started to teach him how to hunt and move without making a sound, the lessons were hard and Harry thought that he would never learn. Next she started to teach him how to fight in his cat form, which was harder for Harry who lacked the aggression of the other mastakos. Every time Harry attacked, she would easily side-step his attack or flip him over her head. They trained like this for nearly six hours, three for the hunting and three for the fighting. Next was the quiet Tempest's turn, he made Harry nervous by at first not saying anything and just circling around Harry. Finally, after circling him six times, Tempest spoke.

"You are weak and you have much to learn, but so little time to learn it."

"Little time?"

"In deed, already the humans are searching for you and it will be just a matter of time before they find us. So we must train you and send you back to them as a mastako cat."

"Mastako cat? I thought I was already a mastako cat?"

"Ha! You are a mastako cub, you have a long way to go to become a mastako cat. Now let's begin, I will train you in the many powers of the mastako heritage."

He did. For many hours Harry trained with Tempest. Harry practiced shadow diving, hypnotism, a move called a slider move and many other abilities. Finally, after seven hours of training, Harry was allowed to eat and rest. Afterwards, Harry was handed over to the mastako named Father Dryden to begin learning the art of weapon making. When Harry asked him what they meant by 'Father', he was told it was a title giving to mastako males who were not warriors but breeders.

Father Dryden was a brown cat with white stripes and a copper red mane. Harry learned as his training progressed that Father Dryden had sired ten boys and six girls. All, but one of them, living in other clans or as humans in the human world. The one that remains is a six years old girl named Bell Flower. Harry had met her as well as the other six cubs, two other girls and four boys. Bell Flower's mother is a Queen or female mastako named Rainfall. Harry thought that she is a beautiful mastako, and that Father Dryden was a lucky guy.

After Harry spent three hours with Father Dryden, he was sent to Mother Marurin to learn how to make tools and pots. She also was to teach him how to tan hides for clothing and bedding. Mother Marurin was a golden cat with a lighter hay colored mane and the same colored stripes. She was also a very heavy and older cat, having given birth to five litters of cubs with four cubs in each litter. Again most of her young were elsewhere, but she still had her two youngest in the clan. The Warrior Dane and the Queen Warrior Glory were fine mastakos and were very loyal to the clan. Harry spent another three hours with her.

When Harry left Mother Marurin, he went to the Elder Bramble. This male mastako preferred his human form as his cat one was too heavy to be lifted and his legs too old to walk anymore. Even though his body was fading, his gray cat slitted eyes still held a world of knowledge. Which was why Harry was sent to him, to learn about the mastako's history. Elder Bramble had only three limbs having been a warrior in his youth. Harry spent an interesting hour with the wizened warrior before he was left to his own vices, until sleep. For the next week, Harry would sleep for six hours, wake feeling refreshed and followed the same course as this. It was almost like Harry was in mastako school and he wasn't the only one who felt that way. Meanwhile, the Hogwarts' teachers continued their frantic search for Harry, getting closer and closer to the hidden mastakos.


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: **Harry Potter and all it's characters belong to J.K. Rowling, although I do own the Mastakos and maybe later a few other little characters.

**Chapter Nine**: _The Search Continues_

The Professors were still seeking Harry in the forbidden forest and it had been 15 days since the Gryffindor ran off. Some of the searchers were loosing hope, they thought that surely if they couldn't find Harry by then, they weren't going to. The others were trudging determinedly forward, refusing to give up hope. It was dismaying work, what with all the dangerous and unfriendly creatures of the forest, not to mention the mastako magic that was almost continuously turning the trackers around without their knowledge. Much to the Mastako warriors ire, the teachers were getting better at ignoring the mastako's magic traps and were making their way a little closer to the clans hideout each day. The Queen knew that they'd be lucky to get another 10 days of training in with Harry before he had to be returned. It broke her heart to have to give up the bright and shining cub, but they couldn't risk the rest of the clan being found out. There had been a few close calls with the persistent humans and her people, situations where the humans had past within mere feet of the watching mastakos. Once Harry's new father had past within a yard of where Harry and another cub named 'Thorn' were practicing their hunting skills. If it weren't for the instincts that mastako cubs have to lay still and quiet when strangers approached, they would have been caught for sure and the Queen wasn't ready to give Harry up yet.

It was night now and the Queen knew that the Professors were reluctantly giving up their search. She walked across the village to where Harry was wrestling with another cub. A young male around his age, named Long Tail, it was getting a bit rough as they both were in their feline forms. As she approached, both shifted back into their human bodies.

"Ha ha, I won that round!" Boasted the golden-maned white cub, Long Tail.

"Yeah, that's only because you've been a cat longer." Harry responded sourly to the other.

"Aw... your just jealous, Green!" Long Tail said smugly. Green Lightning was Harry's mastako name, he was named for the lightning bolt scar on his head and his green eyes. The others usually only called him 'Green' for short.

"Hello, Long Tail... Green Lightning, I see your training has progressed nicely. I'm glad... especially considering our situation."

"Situation, my Queen?" Long Tail asked shaking out his sun yellow hair.

"Yes, you remember what happened with Green and Thorn a few days ago?"

"Green and Thorn were almost discovered by Green's acerbic human father."

"He's not my father." Green stated, frowning.

"He adopted you, didn't he?"

"Well... yeah, but nobody even asked me first."

"Of course they didn't, adult humans never do, it's like children are little more than possessions to them."

"You talk as if you've had experience, Long Tail?"

"Yeah, I have. My human name was Joseph Starling and I spent four years getting pushed back and forth to one relatives' house to another. I was thrilled when I got turn into a mastako, I love it here!"

"My relatives hated me, they didn't want anything to do with me, I tried telling Dumbledore that, but he still sent me back. It was only after becoming a mastako that things changed. I stopped hiding what they were doing to me, it didn't seem to matter anymore. Now since I've come here I don't want to leave."

"Be that as it may, Green, you cannot stay I'm afraid." Queen Krystothym spoke up.

"My Queen?"

"Why not?'' Asked both cubs.

"Because the human Professors are not giving up their search. Everyday they get closer to discovering our home. They could pose a threat to the clan. That is why Green must be returned. Besides he has a destiny that has yet to be for filled."

"Why? I never asked for it. Why can't they just leave me alone? I finally belong somewhere without fame and attentions I don't want or deserve!" Green cried, lashing his scythed tail violently.

"No one choses their destiny, that's why it's called a destiny. As for why your Professors and friends won't let you be. It's because they love you and the hardest thing for anyone who loves anything to do is let them or it go. One day you may return if you wish to, but for now your path doesn't lie with us. Just know that we are there for you whenever you need us, Green."

"I understand."

"Don't you miss your human friends, Ron and Hermione? What about Sirius and Remus?"

"Yeah, I miss them, but I'll miss everyone here too. When will I be able to see my friends here again?"

"That is something only time knows."

"He just wants to stay with his boyfriend, Thorn!" Long Tail spoke up, killing the depressing mood.

"I do not, and he's not my boyfriend!"

"Is that so? Then why are you so upset?"

"No teasing, Long Tail."

"Yes, my Queen."

The remaining five day days past swiftly. Green was put through his paces vigorously, what with him having to return to the castle and to his adopted father's side. He wasn't looking forward to it, no one was really. It was the night that he was to return to the school and he had changed considerably since he had left, gone was the other angry and scared youth, replaced now by a calm, confident and stronger teen. That was the only thing keeping him from begging to stay with the clan, where he wasn't the boy-who-lived or the Chosen One, but Green. They were going to sneak him back into the castle that night while the humans slept, this way the Professors would never discover where the mastakos live.

With him were; the cubs, Thorn and Long Tail, the warrior queens Fotina and Torn Ear, the warriors Copperbeam and Tempest, and last but now least, the Queen Krystothym. The seven of them were there to say their goodbyes and to give some last minute advice.

"Remember Green, that you don't have to stay with the humans if they cause you too much grief. You got us now too." Long Tail stated, licking a large paw.

"If you need our help, you know how to contact us, and when you do we'll be there in a flash." Thorn promised, looking sorrowful but trying not to show it.

"Aw! You're just sad that your boyfriend's leaving. Maybe he'll find new love amongst the humans?"

"Long Tail, don't make me crush your skull."

"Never mind those two, Cub. You've done well, your training has progressed nicely. Don't forget what I taught you or I'll have to slam it all back into your skull." This coming from Tempest.

After saying their goodbyes, Green slunk off toward the castle with Fotina and Torn Ear gliding along side him. Getting back into the school would not be difficult. What would be trouble is when Green, now Harry, knocked on Snape's door in the middle of the night.

Gliding down the darken corridors without trouble, Harry slunk further into the sub-levels of Hogwarts. He had never been to Snape's quarters but he knew he wouldn't have any problems finding it. All he had to do was follow Snape's scent to his destination. Harry was becoming less confident the closer to the dungeons he got and many times he stopped and looked back the way he came. He thought about going to someone else first, his head-of-House or Dumbledore, but decided every time he second guessed himself that both wouldn't be the right choice. Then he thought about going to Sirius or Remus, but decided he couldn't handle the tears and apologies yet. So that left Snape, his adoptive father, he couldn't for the life of him guess at that dark man's reaction. He only hoped that it wouldn't be to horrible, with that last thought the young scythed-tailed cat moved on into the darkness and silence.

Approaching what his nose told him was the entry into Snape's quarters, Harry knock loudly at the door. His nerves jumping at the sound it made in the stillness. The Gryffindor Mastako waited for a few moments, his heart in his throat before turning away. Just as he was about to leave though, his ears picked up on the sound of footsteps on the other side of the door. Turning back around and bracing himself, Harry cringed at the light that flooded the hall when the door opened.

"Potter?" Harry looked up at his surname and for a moment he wasn't Harry but Green looking out at the world through wild eyes.

"Harry?" The Professor said again, stepping back and to the side."Come inside, it is cold out in the halls."

Harry, who looked ready to flee, slowly entered the quarters of his once hated teacher and now adoptive parent. A few feet inside and Harry changed his mind, swirling about to run out again, but before he could the door before him slammed shut. The sound crashing through his skull as his sensitive ears protested the noise. Suddenly terrified, Green hissed and turned to find either another exit or a hiding place. He got to the couch before he was tackled from behind and slowly lowered to the ground.

"Oh no you don't!" Snape growled above him. "Your going to stay here and tell me exactly what you were thinking going into the forbidden forest alone and running away like that!? You selfish, spoiled brat!"

Enraged, Harry planted his feet upwards into Snape's left hip and stomach and then pushing outwards with a small portion of his new strength, he sent his Professor sliding a few feet away from him. "A selfish, spoiled brat, am I? I wander what that makes all the other kids in this school? Really Snape, can't you be more creative with your insults? It seems like your old age has finally caught up with you."

"You little ingrate, How dare you speak to me that way? Have you forgotten that I am you Professor and you adoptive father!?"

"Yeah about that, how much did the Headmaster sell me for, huh. What'd he have to agree to give or do in order for you to 'adopt' me?"

"What are you talking about? He didn't agree to do or give me anything, he didn't sell you."

"Well that's not the way it looks to me. I turn into a cat one night, lose my mind for awhile. Next day I wake up and discover I've been adopted out. Not even a heads up Harry. What else am I suppose to think?"

"Maybe that we couldn't let you go back to the Dursleys and there was no one else who could take you."

"I see, so you got stuck with the short straw, Is that it? Well, I guess the Headmaster didn't learn the first time that sticking me with people who don't want me never ends well."

"He didn't 'stick' you on me, he asked and I agreed."

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why did you agree to adopt me? What's in it for you?"

"It's not about me, I did it to keep you safe and you run off alone into that blasted forest anyway. What were you thinking? Did not turning into a werecat teach you anything about the danger of that forest?"

"I wasn't alone and I was never in any danger."

"What do you mean 'you weren't alone'? Who was with you, Harry?" Snape questioned from where he sat nearby on the floor. He glared hotly at the young Gryffindor who crouched on the floor across from him.

"I.... That's none of your business!"

"Oh... I think it is." Snape said darkly, narrowing his eyes further and staring coldly at his new son.

"Well, I don't and I'm not saying a thing about it. It doesn't matter anyway. I came back, Didn't I? So what's the big deal that I was with someone else out there?"

"What's the big deal? Are you stupid or just ignorant? You could have been in danger, who's to say if the person you were with was a danger to you or not?"

"I think I have more experience with knowing that then you give me credit for."

"Is that so?"

"Yes, I have years of experience dodging people who are out to kill me. There's not a single person whom I can say I honestly trusted that has tried to kill me."

"May I remind you of a certain canine Professor and one full moon?"

"That was completely different, Professor Lupin wasn't himself back than, he would have never hurt me had he had control of himself."

"He didn't have control over himself and you nearly lost your life for it! Not just you, but your friends and myself, are you so certain that the same wouldn't happen again with your new companion?"

"I'm not some helpless child anymore, Professor. I can take care of myself!"

"That is where you are wrong! You are a fifteen years old boy and in no way are you ready to 'take care of yourself'!"

"Oh yeah! I have been doing it for years now, so how can I not be ready. I've had too. I was left with no choice but too!"

"Now you have a choice, let me take that burden from you."

"I can't... You wouldn't understand."

"I think we both know differently." Snape said, referring to the memories Harry saw weeks ago. It felt like years ago to him now.

"I'm asking only for a chance, Harry. No more...no less, just a chance."

Harry was silent for a few moments. "Just a chance. I... I think I can do that. After all, what choice do I have?"

"Thank you Harry." Snape said, choosing to ignore the Gryffindor's last comment. "It's late now and I imagine you must be very tired. There is a new room in my quarters the Headmaster had installed just for you. If you have not objections?"

"No...no, that will be fine. I am rather tired." Harry said and following the Professor, he chose not to dwell on the coming day and the stress his meeting with the others will bring.


End file.
